Today’s we’re talking about parasites, so let us ask you, do you…
- Kiss your dog?
- Have your dog sleep in the bed with you?
- Walk barefoot outside?
- Have a cat?
- Eat sushi or sashimi?
- Have smoker’s wrinkles around your mouth but don’t smoke?
If so, then you are like most of us and you should be informed that these are all ways that we can get parasites.
We asked Wellness Wiz Jack Tips, our primary clinical guest in Gut Thrive, to weigh in on today’s blog about parasites. Jack is a CCN, PhD, and has 30 years of gut healing clinical practice to share.
Here’s what he said:
You don't have to get sick to have parasites.
There are three simple conditions to acquire unwanted “dinner guests” in your gut and in your body.
1. Exposure
We all have the opportunity for exposure to parasites and the most likely are:
- Foreign travel
- Unsanitary restaurant food
- Putting your hands in your mouth or in your eyes
- Undercooked pork
- Handling feces (clinics, daycare, diapers, hospitals, veterinary clinics, etc.)
- Swimming in rivers and lakes
- Kissing pets
- Sleeping with pets in the bed
- Sharing a bed with a person who has pinworms
- Eating sushi and sashimi
Even walking barefooted where a dog has “been” can allow tiny parasites to enter through the pores of the feet.
The fact is, we all have exposure. Fortunately, it takes more than exposure for a parasite to gain residency inside your body.
2. A Welcoming Terrain
Parasites will typically stay and “take up residency” inside your body if your gut or immune system is compromised in some way. They prefer intestinal dysbiosis, or leaky gut syndrome, and congestion/mucoid matter as their ideal environment.
Two people can have identical exposures to parasites, but one person gets a big tapeworm and the other person doesn't.
Why?
The person who got the worm probably had dysbiosis or lack of biodiversity (not enough good bugs) in the gut microbiome.
A healthy gut microbiome has many deterrents so that the introduction of parasites or parasite eggs will meet a stiff resistance from many of the local probiotic species.
Unfortunately, many lifestyle practices today weaken the gut microbiome.
Some examples include:
- Antibiotic use
- Antibiotics in commercial meat and fish
- Chlorine in tap water
- Poor HCL production in the stomach
- Over snacking
- Low pancreatic enzyme production
- The overuse of sugar or poor quality starches
3. A Weakened Immune Response
An immune system that cannot muster the troops to fight the parasite off either due to being overextended/depleted or from living in an over-sanitized environment (ditch than antibacterial hand gel 😉 is another reason parasites will set up camp inside your body and take away your health and vitality.
The modern day immune system is often completely overworked.
When it is maxed out fighting dysbiosis (leaky gut) in the intestines, other pathogens in and around the body, working on too many cooked foods (leukocytosis), struggling with allergies, confused from too many vaccinations, patrolling damaged mitochondria, overextended with inflammation responses on cell membranes, and acquired heavy metals and toxins from the environment, then a parasite can easily sneak in under the radar, take up residence, and build sufficient defenses so that your existing probiotic species and the immune system can't drive it off.
On the other side of the same coin, over-sanitized environments make a person susceptible because the immune system becomes lazy without some small exposures to keep it vigilant.
Health is all about balance.
What to do to Avoid and Rid Yourself of Parasites?
1. Minimize exposure (and stop kissing the dog – so hard, we know!)
2. Ensure a healthy digestion and healthy gut microbiome (e.g. GT5!)
3. Live a natural, healthy lifestyle to reduce stress and support health nutritionally. Supplements, spices in the diet, fermented vegetables!
4. When in doubt, do an herbal anti-parasitic program for general, occasional maintenance.
The healthier the person, the less the worry about parasites. When you rejuvenate your microbiome and your immune system, it’s like have your own personal Fort Knox inside of you.
At The Whole Journey, our favorite anti-parasitics are garlic, black walnut, turmeric, pomegranate seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, cloves, and wormwood. Keep in mind that spices and garden herbs are amazing to use in your diet and raw green pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds do a number on the elimination of parasites so plan to work them into your meals!
If this is fascinating to you and you want to dig deeper, watch our free webinar where we pull together all aspects of gut health for you and help you create an action plan to rejuvenate your immune system and gut, but also your liver, pancreas, and your brain! freeguthealthwebinar.com
Can the Gut THRIVE in 5 program be completed if I am a nursing mother?
Yes, Jamie! We have special considerations for nursing mothers in the program protocol.
How does smoker’s wrinkles around your mouth make you more susceptible to parasites?
Hi Tamara, Smokers wrinkles around the mouth, if you are not a smoker can indicate intestinal worms and the general health of the large intestine/colon. This comes from Chinese medicine – much like how we can look at the tongue to determine the health of the liver and digestive system or how in reflexology, points on the hands/feet correlate to different body parts – the face does as well. Another example is horizontal lines across the bridge of the nose, when you don’t scrunch your nose as a regular practice, can indicate pancreatic insufficiency.
An I missing something? Towards the end you say “these are our top ten favorite anti-parasitics” but I don’t see a list anywhere or a link to one?
Hi Laura! Thanks for writing in and catching the missing information! We are updating the blog now and adding to it our favorite anti-parasitics: Garlic, black walnut, turmeric, pomegranate seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, cloves, and wormwood 🙂
Hi All,
Smokers wrinkles around the mouth, if you are not a smoker can indicate intestinal worms and the general health of the large intestine/colon. This comes from Chinese medicine – much like how we can look at the tongue to determine the health of the liver and digestive system or how in reflexology, points on the hands/feet correlate to different body parts – the face does as well. Another example is horizontal lines across the bridge of the nose, when you don’t scrunch your nose as a regular practice, can indicate pancreatic insufficiency.~Stacey, TWJ Team Member
Have microscopic evaluation by your dentist for periodontitis (99%parasited with Entamoeba gingivalis and or Trichomonas tenax)
Please, we keep asking about the smoker’s wrinkles thing???
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How smoker’s wrinkles around mouth related to parasites ?
I have the same question as Anna: Where do the “smoking wrinkles” come from? I don’t smoke either!
Please explain why nonsmoker “smoking wrinkles” are a risk factor for parasites?
Because I have these and I am a nonsmoker and I don’t think I am pursing my mouth so this left me wondering….
The smoking wrinkles can also be caused by drinking your beverages through a straw. Same repetitive action as smoking.